Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., criticized the Department of Justice's approach to subpoenas in an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday, citing a perceived double standard.
District Judge Ana Reyes, appointed by President Joe Biden, recently criticized the DOJ's stance, highlighting perceived hypocrisy in their approach to subpoenas. Reyes argued that while the DOJ instructs individuals not to comply with certain subpoenas, it pursues imprisonment for others for similar actions, as reported by the New York Post.
The House Oversight Committee chair told "Rob Schmitt Tonight," "I think what the judge said was exactly right. The hypocrisy is breathtaking here that the Department of Justice wants to incarcerate anyone who didn't comply with subpoenas from the sham Jan. 6 committee, yet our credible investigation has proved that this family has committed many financial crimes that have proven this family was influence peddling."
Comer's comments come against the backdrop of recent legal actions stemming from noncompliance with congressional subpoenas.
Former White House adviser Peter Navarro, 74, was sentenced to four months in prison for refusing to appear before the U.S. Congress as required by a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a DOJ press release.
Additionally, the House Judiciary Committee has sued two Justice Department attorneys, Mark Daly and Jack Morgan, for defying subpoenas related to the investigation into Hunter Biden. These subpoenas aimed to uncover whether Hunter Biden received preferential treatment and if the president abused power to influence investigations. Daly and Morgan were subpoenaed twice and failed to testify on March 1, NBC News reported.
Comer said: "They aggressively encourage people not to comply with our subpoenas. Look, I think this is just gonna give our criminal referrals and our accountability at the end of this investigation even more credibility and even more steam as we move forward with trying to hold this family accountable."
He added: "We found two things in this investigation. We found crimes that multiple Biden family members have committed, and we found a massive cover-up in our government. Holding the Department of Justice and the other deep state agencies accountable, I think, is another way that we can demonstrate to the American people that there are some people in Congress who are trying to hold people accountable for bad behavior."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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